Japanese Utility Model Application, Public Disclosure No. 5-8882 discloses an electrical connector assembly capable of detecting the mating of its male and female housings. The male housing includes a plurality of pin terminals and the female housing includes a plurality of receptacle terminals.
In this prior art connector the male and female housings are molded of a synthetic resin material, and each housing is composed of a main body and an associated separate cover. The main body of one of these housings has an integrally molded lever. The lever has contacts on its opposite arms, and when the male and female housings are mated, the contacts of the lever of the male (or female) housing engage the contacts provided on the surface of the female (or male) housing facing the male (or female) housing, thereby permitting an associated detector circuit to detect the mating of the male and female parts.
This type of detecting arrangement is useful in detecting the mating of the male and female housings. It, however, requires the lever on the male (or female) housing and the associated contacts on the female (or male) housing for cooperating with lever's contacts to close an associated detector circuit, thereby detecting the mating of the male and female housings. A problem with such an arrangement is that the mechanical male-and-female mating action is effected separately from the electrical detection and an indication of the completed connection of the male and female housing is possible in spite of incomplete mating of the connector housings.
Furthermore, such a connector requires extra number of parts such as a lever and associated elements, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost.